And I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16:19
What a tremendous opportunity the church has been given to unlock the doors of understanding for lost men, women, boys, and girls to the glorious gospel of Christ. Jesus' mention of "the keys to the kingdom" was a figure of speech familiar to the disciples. On another occasion, referring to the religious experts of His day, Jesus said, "Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered" (Luke 11:52). It was the role of the rabbis to unlock the doors of understanding and knowledge. They were instead locking the doors and keeping people from understanding.
Jesus tells today's church that we have the keys to the kingdom. We have been given the gospel, the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Along with those keys comes every believer's responsibility to use them. Nothing that the Enemy throws at us should deter us, slow us down, or cause us to give up, because we possess the keys of authority. The power of heaven binds what we bind, and the power of heaven looes what we loose.
The only thing that can come between the power of heaven and these keys of authority is sin. Isaiah 59:2 says, "Your iniquities have separated you for your God." But we know from 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, God will forgive and cleanse us. So we must do all we can to stay close to Jesus, remembering that He told His disciples, "Abide in Me, and I will you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me" (John 15:4). Apart from Jesus we are nothing! May we abide in Him, and help others come closer to Him as well.
Lord Jesus, help me to be faithful every day to use the keys of the kingdom of heaven to point people to You. Thank you for making possible the way of salvation! Amen.